A/n: Here's the next chapter you guys! Seems like you guys are wondering if our little Uchiha will get his sight back. Let me just say, IF he does it won't be for a WHILE. Snicker snicker. And yes, Sasuke won't be too weak for long, either. Wait and see my friends, wait and see. It kind of is grating on me as well though.

As far as some more characters coming...you guys know I had to add in a certain Sand-nin, didn't you:) YESSS. I can't wait to add him in...kukuku, the things I have in store.

Thanks for reviewing and beware of possible OOCness from certain characters.

Disclaimer: Nope. Nada. Zip. Kishimoto-sama tempts us real good.

Claim: I do own this plot though! Thank you very much, have a nice day.

The Heir
Chapter Three
Ruminate

He could not believe it. He wouldn't believe it. There was no way Hinata had set him up for some insane psycho-therapy with deranged animals.

"Are you ready to go, Uchiha-san? We're going to Yamanaka's Pet Paradise today!" Hinata called benignly through his door.

She would. And at the moment, Sasuke hated the nice girl. But instead of damning her to hell like he wanted, he remained a polite little boy and grunted.

Sasuke sat on the edge of his bed, head tilted downward. He had been mostly dressed by Hinata (except for certain undergarments), and he off-handedly wondered what she chose for him. The girl was never able to give him a bath though–she was too flustered to even think about it. So, she just had a male attendant do that. Frankly, Sasuke would have much rather had Hinata or a girl do the honor.

Hinata opened the door with a smile plastered on her face. It wasn't really fake, but whenever she was around Sasuke, she couldn't help but get a little down. The young man was always so depressed. She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, and he nodded in silent response.

I think I'm done preparing for Hell, he thought bitterly.

As Hinata led him outside, she realized it would be his fist time outside since...that night. She really wished he could see it, maybe it would've upped his spirits a little. Birds were chirping, there were only a few small clouds in they sky, and the weather was perfect.

"Oh, Uchiha-san, you should see the weather! It's so nice today," Hinata said, looking happily up at the sky. "I...I think it would make you happy."

"I like ominous days," Sasuke muttered. He really was getting annoyed at the stupid birds and stupid nice weather. What was there to be happy about, anyway?

Hinata's smile fell slightly. "Oh, I-I'm sorry. Well, it's nice...if you like...um, weather with um, cloudless skies and sun..."

Sasuke ignored her rambling about the scenery. He didn't find it annoying more than he found it helpful. He knew that she continued to talk so that he would know the way to 'paradise.' Most of the time, he appreciated the quiet girl's company. Actually, he was beginning to believe that a grudging familiarity was winning her over as a friend.

The Uchiha wanted to jump off a bridge. What the hell was he talking about? A familiarity? True, the girl was nice, quiet, not into what girls called 'huggling', and she never squealed. But Sasuke knew there was no room for friends in his life, and there never had been.

Even when he was younger, people he'd befriend would be after his money, looks, or fame. Either that, or they'd be endangered.

His space-out mode was halted when he felt a timid brush against his forearm. It was Hinata's way of attracting his attention or swaying him from any obstacles of danger. He wondered why the girl never took charge and just tugged on him. Sometimes he wanted to force her to clamp a hand onto his shoulder–the little touches made him a bit itchy.

"U-Uchiha-san, we're here." Hinata looked towards the booming business of a pet shop. There were playful puppies and curious kittens greeting them in the windows and the place had such a welcoming feel about it.

"All right," Sasuke said, not sure of what else to say. The Hyuga tried to help him over the only bad thing about the shop–cracked sidewalks. She didn't want to touch him at all–Hinata felt she wasn't too worthy. There was no way Sasuke was going to get over that huge wrinkle in the concrete though.

"Oh, shi–!" Sasuke stumbled completely off of his feet and Hinata watched in horror he seemed to pause in mid-air. If she didn't do anything now, what kind of caretaker would she be?

Hinata grabbed onto Sasuke anywhere she could the pair fell awkwardly onto the pavement. She wasn't injured since she was wearing her ever-present jacket, but she was more worried about Sasuke.

"Uchiha- san, are you okay!" she asked frantically. Hinata seriously considered crying if anything happened to him.

"Ugh, I'm fine, Hyuga-san. Thank you," Sasuke grunted on top of her. Sure, his arms were starting to kill him again and everywhere else was crying, but he was all good.

"Wow. I didn't know I'd have to treat a nympho, too," a teasing voice said, behind them. Hinata's eyes widened frightfully since she knew that remark was about her.

"I-I'm sorry, Yamanaka-san," she respectfully said, shifting so that Sasuke could get off of her. The blonde owner waved a dismissing hand at the young girl.

"It's all right, Hinata, but call me Ino," the Yamanaka said to Hinata. "And don't worry, I was just kidding about the nympho part!"

Hinata fumbled slightly as she helped herself up, then Sasuke. The Uchiha had listened to the conversation strangely and scoffed at it. Like a girl like Hinata could be a nympho.

"So this is him, huh?" Ino looked Sasuke up and down, scrutinizing his every feature. She never knew a beat-up guy could be so attractive in the simple clothes he was wearing. He donned a pair of khaki cargo pants and a simple, navy blue, hooded sweater. "Can't wait to see him when he's all healed."

Sasuke stayed silent as Hinata blushed slightly. It's true, he was healing faster than any other regular human would in his state and showing his nature-born features. Most of his broken bones were mended and the only things that marred his otherwise perfect skin were pearly scars. True to the Uchiha name, Sasuke had proven to be very good-looking under all of his wounds.

"Um, I-Ino, he's blind...not, um, deaf..."

"Oh, whoops! Really?" Ino smiled sheepishly but then waved it off. "That's okay. I'm sure he's used to comments like that."

Hinata helped Sasuke through the wide door way as he continued to curse over the stumbles he suffered. Inside Paradise, there was assortments of animals in cages or even just roaming around. Hinata squeaked as a python leered at her dangerously.

"Forehead-girl told me all about–what was it?–ah, yes, Sasuke-kun." Ino led the two to a place some what in the back, closed off from the rest of the shop. Hinata sighed with relief as she saw that no other animals could get in unless the door was opened.

Sasuke had an itching feeling about this Ino-girl. Yeah, from the first thing she said about him, she seemed like a would-be groupie.

"Uchiha-san, I'll be leaving you here for an hour, okay?" Sasuke wanted to scream. The only person he was semi-comfortable with was leaving him with rabid losers with fur and scales and talons and–.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I'll take care of you." The Uchiha groaned silently. That was a promise he could've done well without.

But sure enough, Hinata said good-bye. More like abandoned, Sasuke thought bitterly. The great Uchiha sat on a bench in the little therapy corner with a tiny kitten on his lap.

Now, it wasn't as evil as Akamaru first was–he didn't try to make Sasuke lose all hope of restoring his clan. The kitten was nice and docile, which was the opposite of what Sasuke normally thought of felines.

Sasuke had the idea that all animals were pretty much from hell–cats and dogs being the main evil leaders. No one knew why he didn't like them since they were so "cute and cuddly." But the young man had known cats to be maniacal things with vicious claws that deceived people in the day while killing them at night.

The young lad sighed–he had been thinking a lot lately. Sasuke had become a contemplative man. He thought about anything: cats, dogs, why Neji was such a bastard to him, and everything else that came to mind. More over, he ruminated about his life. Sasuke never had real any use for it, so why was he trying to save it now?

He damned his medication. Now, it was making him depressed and angst-filled. The guy sneered at the sniveling woman he was becoming.

Sasuke still couldn't get his mind off of when he was going to leave. He didn't want to make a permanent imprint on any one of these people's lives, but his condition was hindering him from departing.

He supposed he'd just wait until he was well enough to start training. And then, when he was finally back to his ass-kicking, lethal weapon status he'd hunt the bastards down that did this to him. Since they cost him sight, he'd charge them their lives.

Sure, he hadn't been able to take them before. Just because Sasuke was now blind and the four were still perfectly in tact didn't mean that they'd win again. He'd fought them once before and his Sharingan probably copied everything.

Oh, wait. Would he still be able to do their moves if he was blind! Did he still even have the Sharingan? What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Good Lord, he was going through more mood swings. One moment he was sensitive, then the next he was vengeful, and then freaking out.

Sasuke hadn't noticed he had started squeezing the kitten who was mewling under his strong grip. It wriggled a paw out of his grasp and swat at him, claws unsheathed. The man cried out and dropped the poor cat to the floor, who ran to corner and curled up into a measly ball. The Uchiha sighed.

Great, now kittens avoid me.

A tinkling he never heard before softly ran through the shop. The front door closed and Sasuke heard steps padding around, admiring the view. The young man stayed on alert–it could be the four again, but from the chakra, he could tell it wasn't them. True, his chakra sensing ability had been worn down only a tad, but it was still in tact–sort of. Just to be sure it wasn't anyone dangerous, he wasn't going to take any chances.

"What the hell are you doing here!" But it looks like someone beat him to it. The voice he knew to be Ino came out of where ever she was helping a customer.

Even the blind man could tell that she was cross at the intrusion. Obviously it wasn't a customer, but who could make her so annoyed? Why, it was some pineapple-headed mail man.

"Will you stop shouting already? What's got you so worked up?" he asked, scratching his ear. Ino's eyebrow twitched a little bit.

"Shikamaru, you've been coming here for the past–oh, I don't know–three weeks and for no apparent reason!" she hissed quietly, so that she wouldn't disturb others. "I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"Oh, you know me," Shikamaru said, waving a dismissing hand. He looked around the place in a bored manner.

He wasn't the best looking mail-man (unless the light hit his face just right and winked), but he was definitely not the worst. There was something about his lazy demeanor that gave off a homey, comfy feeling though. A bored type of scowl always adorned his lips and it made a girl wonder what he was thinking behind those brown eyes. "I'm your friendly, neighborhood mail man."

"You don't even deliver your own packages!" Ino seethed. Shikamaru funnily noted the throbbing vein in her forehead. "You make poor Chouji do it for you, lazy-ass!"

"He needs to lose weight anyways," he joked, but not meaning it.

"Shikamaru!"

Sasuke held a bitter smirk to their conversation. The two reminded him of children in a petting zoo. And now he remembered why he stayed in the Hyuga compound–.

"Who's the guy in the kiddy corner?"

It was so he wouldn't kill idiots like Shikamaru. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

Shikamaru raised a dark eyebrow at the injured guy while Ino rushed forward to assuage him. "Now, now, Sasuke-kun, he was just joking. RIGHT, Shika?"

"Whatever," Shikamaru sighed, waving his hand. He turned away to observe the place. "How troublesome..."

What're we gonna do with him?

"Be nice, Shikamaru, he's a patient of mine," Ino pleaded, looking back and forth between the two. The would-be genius rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Fine, I already told you I would," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He had learned that if Ino was desperate enough to plead, it was worth consenting.

Sasuke listened as Shikamaru made his way through the store to the back. The Uchiha wondered with curiosity what he would be doing. At this moment, he really wished he had his sight back–so he could see how stupid the idiot really looked.

Before Shikamaru was out of Sasuke's hearing range, he heard the post-man say, "The clouds look real nice today."

The Uchiha scrunched up his nose in distaste. Did he just say something about the clouds? What kind of person watches clouds all day?

"I think I'll look at 'em all day..." Apparently, this kind of person. Sasuke heard Ino sigh in exasperation.

"FINE. Just don't disturb the customers or birds out back, lazy-ass." And with that, she stormed off, wanting to vent her frustration to the flowers in her office. The customer she had been tending to looked around, confused.

This is great. Just great, Sasuke thought sarcastically. I'm stuck here with these morons.

The girl stared into the lavender-tinted orbs which were higher than her own, on the face of a man taller than her. There was no way she was going to back down. She had a damn good reason to give him a stern look and he knew it as well. Though he was the master of this house, she was not afraid to let him know he was being an ass.

"Neji-sama, I'll have you know that was very mean, what you did to Sasuke-san," she said, still looking straight at him. The Hyuga male sighed and turned away.

"I didn't make him fall, it was him who made me drop my soup and spill it everywhere," he explained, regarding the past incident. TenTen had told him what happened to the Uchiha and he wasn't very surprised. "It's not my fault that he can't see where he's going."

The maid continued to give him a harsh look. He didn't mean that last statement to be degrading, it just sort of slipped. Really, he didn't.

"Why're you so harsh on the boy, anyway?" she asked him, referring to the young man only a year younger than herself. Neji's jaw tightened slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

True, TenTen was just the head maid of the house, but Neji took banters from her when needed. She was like another sister to him–yeah...a sister–besides Hinata, though he didn't show it. The brunette would remind him if he was out of line or grating too much on the younger Hyuga girl.

"Whoever did this to Uchiha...if they find out he's alive, they'll come here," he said, staring straight ahead. TenTen moved to stand by his freshly seated self.

"That's if they find out," she said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Neji shook his head at her.

"I have an ominous feeling about this guy... He'll bring us trouble," he confessed. TenTen smiled sympathetically at him.

"It's not his fault Hinata found him. You know how caring she is for people," she said. "It was her choice to look after him, and I say we stick by her."

"I still don't like him," Neji voiced. TenTen gave him her own disapproving look and rolled her eyes.

"Is it because he's known as a socialite and is also part of SHINOBI?" she asked of him. Neji grunted in a short response.

"...Partly."

"What is it then?" TenTen waited for the Hyuga to give an answer. And this time she wasn't going to stand for a sound effect.

"...What he does with women..."

The maid rolled her eyes and pat his shoulder again. "He wouldn't try any of that with Hinata-chan. Trust me."

Neji's eyes threatened to widen as he felt TenTen's arms slowly wrap around him from behind. She didn't mean anything by it, or did she? Everyone in the house knew they had feelings for one another but they'd never act on them since duty meant so much more.

"Don't worry Neji-sama. It'll be fine between them."

The Hyuga sighed and lightly placed a hand on top of her own. And what of us? He supposed he'd just have to trust her.

Hinata smiled, on her way to pick up Sasuke. The day was completely perfect for her; she couldn't help but pity anyone that thought it was horrible. But she remembered the one person who did and immediately scratched that thought.

The angst-filled man had become quite an interesting person to watch progress. Hinata couldn't see how she could miss the famous face before. He used to be all over newspapers and TV, though he really didn't do much. She remembered he was even part of SHINOBI and that he was a capable killing machine. She also recalled she would feel very uncomfortable under his onyx, and sometimes red, gaze–even if it was just a picture. The girl was a little glad he kept his eyes closed, or else she'd be stuttering every word in front of him.

The Hyuga wondered what his past life was like; before coming with her. She wondered if he was a good SHINOBI–but she didn't think about that for too long. The first day he woke up was proof enough for her. It was amazing how he could be so well known, and not once get caught on a mission.

She recalled that even his brother, Ita-something or other, was even head of the SHINOBI in Konoha. I should look that up later...

She supposed it was a perk of being an Uchiha. Their lineage was legendary and so were their techniques. They were natural fighters and were known to be charming to those who had required their services. The most special mark of their clan was the Sharingan. Hinata's clan had their own Byakugan, which the Sharingan had developed from, but she couldn't help but wonder how the latter was like in action.

Hinata herself wasn't fully able to use her own Byakugan to its full potential. Unlike her younger sister, Hanabi, and her cousin Neji, she wasn't much of a fighter. The Hyuga girl looked down sadly.

Her own father had tried to train her but each time, she would fail miserably. Hiashi had gotten fed up and moved on to Hanabi, thus disregarding the older heiress. Hinata didn't understand why fighting was so important anymore anyway. She didn't want to be a SHINOBI and it's not like clans were constantly pit against each other.

Hinata's childhood had been less than happy, what with being beaten so much (she didn't want to think about that at the moment though), but she was glad she had her friends nearby.

Kiba was all she ever had when she was younger, and she was glad that he was a reliable friend when need be. They happened to meet when Akamaru peed on the bushes outside the main Hyuga compound. The guards were shouting hurtful things to the dog while Kiba was doing the same to them. Hinata had ran out and saw the sweet puppy so she picked him up in her small, five-year-old arms. Long story short, she assuaged the guards and Kiba thanked her.

It was one of the first times that someone had ever said anything like that to her.

Now, the Inuzuka stood tall at six foot three but his size was just used to protect her from the cold and other harmful things. With his grins and matured features he had become a part-time lady-killer, but that never stopped him from being there for her. It never worked to gain Hinata's affections though.

The few friends she had prodded her as to why she never fell for him, but the girl could never answer. Love was something foreign to her. That is, until he showed up. Hinata started to blush terribly as people on the sidewalks looked at her a bit strangely.

Uzumaki Naruto had only been an assistant to Sakura for about three weeks, but already he had wriggled his way into Hinata's shy heart. The girl was struck dumb from the sight of his own comical grin and helping hands. She had been speechless the first time she caught a glimpse of him with the pink-haired doctor and sometimes, she still was.

Hinata giggled slightly at herself for being so...school girl-ish. She lightly tapped her face to make sure a blush didn't adorn it so Sasuke wouldn't be witness to its fury. The girl lightly smacked herself for that thought–how could she forget his handicap?

The Hyuga had successfully retrieved the Uchiha, much to his concealed gratitude. Hinata waved good-bye to Ino and the strange cloud-gazer she just met, before leading Sasuke onto the street. This time she made sure he made it past the cracks and smiled.

"How did it go, Sasuke-san?" he heard her ask him. For some reason Hinata seemed really happy, but he wasn't. Sasuke grimaced slightly.

"...Please don't make me go back," he asked of her. Hinata laughed quietly as she let him past a pole.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," she said to him. Just then a thought hit Sasuke.

"Since when did I become 'Sasuke'-san?" Hinata's eyes widened at the little slip up she allowed. She must've been in such a giddy mood that Naruto brought that she skipped that last name!

"I-I'm sorry, Uchiha-san," she apologized, bowing though he couldn't really see her. Sasuke shook his head nonchalantly.

"It's fine. You can call me that, if you want," he mumbled. Hinata looked up at him in surprise. "I guess, we're kind of friends, anyways..."

Sasuke couldn't help it, though he cursed himself.. Apparently some of her joy was contagious. Hinata smiled delightfully at him and if Sasuke could've seen it, he would have been bedazzled.

"Oh, really? Well, you can call me H-Hinata-san, too, if you want," she stuttered, flattered at his comment. She was so busy fluttering about that she forgot to lead Sasuke out of the dangers known as street-lights. Sasuke smirked slightly.

"Maybe I will."

And with that, he promptly walked into a pole.

Author's Note: When Sasuke was considering him and Hinata being friends, he only means friends... For now at least. And Hinata feels the same way as well. Sorry that this chapter was kind of boring... It's more to have you guys kind of get to knowthe characters, I suppose.I stayed home from school to finish an essay due today but used my precious time to work on this as well. Damn my procrastinating skills.

Sorry for any OOCness and Sasuke's bitter-ness. Pretty soon, though, I expect him back to his arrogant self. ...I think...

And can you believe it? I'm listening to my "Naruto Best Hits" CD. Geez, I am so cool.

Anyways, please review! Constructive criticism is welcomed but flames will be used to roast my marshmallows.

Next Chapter: It's Kiba's birthday, which also happens to be Tanabata Festival! Hinata invites Sasuke along to celebrate, but will his angst get in the way? And if he does, just exactly what will the Uchiha wish for? His sight, or something else?

Someone also seems to be following the happy group and a member of the party-goers is kidnaped before they get to celebrate turning nineteen...